Eastern Africa Journalists Association or EAJA called on South Sudan government to urgently put measures to improve safety and security of journalists and media houses operating in the country.
EAJA Secretary General Alexander Niyungeko in a statement CRN got on Wednesday, said the ongoing conflict in South Sudan put lives of many journalists in danger and jeopardizes operations of media houses.
He made the call following reports that the Citizen Television or CTV shut down over fears for safety of its staff due to the continuing unstable security situation in Juba.
‘We call on the South Sudan government to improve security for the journalists and media outlets to guarantee media freedom and information flow to the world about the situation in the country and the efforts being made towards the resolution of the conflict,’ Mr Niyungeko said.
Earlier, CTV Director Nhial Bol said the security situation in Juba remained uncertain, posing a risk to staff.
He explained that they decided to stop the distribution of the Citizen Newspaper in some areas because new traffic laws discouraged the use of motorbikes due to security concerns in the capital.
One of our distributors, Isaac Amba was seriously hurt last Wednesday when the police beat him with stick while leaving the National Parliament building after delivering papers.